Apple doubles OLED orders from Samsung, but there’s a catch

Apple is ramping up its use of OLED displays in 2018. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is upping its use of OLED displays for this year’s iPhone refresh — and it wants a better deal as a result.

As was the case last year, this year’s iPhone displays will reportedly be manufactured by Samsung Display. Due to the numbers Apple is projecting for this year’s OLED iPhone orders, it wants Samsung to lower the costs it charges Apple by around 9 percent.

Instead of charging Apple $110, Samsung would therefore only charge Apple $100 per unit. However, it plans to bring in substantially more revenue from Apple, since OLED iPhone display orders will increase from 50 million for the iPhone X in 2017 to a maximum of 100 million in 2018.

Of these, 25 million units will be for the current iPhone X, while the remaining 75 million will be used for the next-gen OLED iPhone models.

Present reports suggest that Apple will be launching three next-gen iPhones this year, in addition to the (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. These will include a 5.8-inch iPhone X, a 6.5-inch iPhone X and a 6.1-inch iPhone. Only the first two of these will include an OLED display, while the 6.1-inch model will reportedly feature an LCD display.

Getting a head start on production

A recent report suggested that Samsung is already ramping up to start OLED panel production early. Apple has also supposedly started production on its 3D facial sensors for this year’s iPhone refresh.

While Apple certainly has the necessary clout to demand a price reduction from Samsung, the South Korean firm may nonetheless be a bit cautious. Earlier this year, Apple’s decision to slash iPhone X order numbers in half resulted in Samsung’s OLED production shutting down for several months.

It will only resume in May to begin work on the new Apple orders.

What are your hopes for this year’s iPhone refresh? Let us know in the comments below.